The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Trevor Discusses Violence Against Women | Nomzamo Mbatha
Episode Date: March 25, 2021Trevor examines the all-encompassing scourge of violence against women, Dulce Sloan celebrates activist women athletes, and Nomzamo Mbatha talks about landing her role in "Coming 2 America."To help pr...ovide housing, legal services and leadership development for formerly incarcerated women, please donate at dailyshow.com/ANewWayOfLife. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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You're listening to Comedy Central.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News.
Listen to 60 Minutes a second look
on Apple podcasts starting September 17th.
Hey, what's going on, everybody?
I'm Trevor Noah, and this is the Daily Social Distancing Show.
Today is March 24th, which means we are almost at the end of Women's History Month.
So to celebrate, let's once again highlight a random woman from history who deserves it.
All right, let's see who we got today.
Ah, look at that. Today it's Sophie Ferguson. What a legend.
You see, in 1906, Sophie became the first woman to say,
I am the boss when a man asked to speak to her boss. Yeah, that man's head
exploded so hard it caused the great San Francisco earthquake. Congratulations, Sophie.
Anyway, on tonight's show, Dulce Sloan on America's female caponics. We talk about
how men can help women feel safer in the streets, and why Kamala Harris is
history's greatest monster.
So let's do this, people.
Welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
From Trevor's Couch in New York City to your couch somewhere in the world.
This is the Daily Social Distancing Show with Trevor Noah.
Ears Edition.
Let's kick things off with the exciting news from the world of international shipping.
You know, it's how you get all of those amazing products that claim to be locally sourced.
But now, some of those deliveries might be a little delayed.
Overseas a major concern for global shipping, a large container ship is blocking the Swiss canal.
A technical problem caused a 1,300-foot vessel to run aground.
The online monitoring system, Tanker Tracker, shows the huge backlog it's created, a traffic
jam, basically, with ships unable to pass in either direction.
They're trying to get tugs in there to pull it out, but it's so big that they're having a hard
time moving it. Okay, I don't know about you, but I didn't even know that this could happen.
There's a giant traffic jam of cargo ships.
Yo, you realize that this is gonna set the human trafficking industry back weeks.
And I feel so bad for the captain of that ship that got stuck in the canal,
because, like, we've all been there.
Trying to make a U-turn on a narrow street, but now imagine how much more stressful it must be when you know that if you back up wrong, you might bump Egypt.
Oh, sorry!
I also feel bad for the guys behind that ship.
Because it's not like there's a lot of alternate routes they can take.
Can you imagine if you're on one of those ships?
You're looking at your Ways app, like what? Go around Africa? No, no, no, pull up Google Maps. This is. This is. This is. This is. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I'm th. I'm th. I's. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I's th. I's th. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th the. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I th look at how big that ship is, I'm not surprised that it got stuck.
And the crazy thing is,
that whole ship is just delivering two double A batteries.
Yeah, the rest is just extra packaging.
What this situation really shows is how,
even in this age of technology,
we still depend on old-school things like cargo ships and canals.
I mean, think about it. Right now, we can use our wireless computer phone
to buy a hologram with cryptocurrency.
But at the same time, big boat got stuck,
what are too small.
But let's move on now to Washington, D.C.,
where there is a big debate going on about gun control.
You see, Democrats say that maybe we should do something so that there isn't a mass shooting
like every five minutes.
Ugh!
While Republicans say, come on, where's your sense of adventure?
Live a little!
But maybe Republicans are just busy with more important things.
Because if you watch conservative media right now, you know that at this moment, we are living
through one of the biggest scandals in American history. Vice President Kamela Harris under fire for repeatedly failing to salute to to to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute to salute the military the military the military the military the military the military the military the military the military the military the military the military their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the military, the military, the military, the military, the military the military the military the military the military the military the military the military the military the military, the military the military, the military, the military, the military, the military, the military, the military, the military, their their their their their their their their their their their their their their the military, the military, the one of the biggest scandals in American history. Vice President Kamala Harris under fire for repeatedly failing to salute the military when
boarding Air Force 2. Critics call it disgraceful that she would break the tradition of
showing respect.
And guess who appears to not support our men and women in the armed forces?
Vice President Kamala Harris, simply refusing to salute the military members standing their
post.
You should respect the military when they salute, salute back.
She's not a very serious person.
At least she didn't fall up the staircase here.
But Barney, the lack of respect here from Kamala Harris, I think is jarring for a lot of
folks.
For her to walk by them and not return their salute is just, it's outrageous.
Unbelievable.
Kamala Harris, vice president and woman who is one strong gust of wind away from shattering
the glass ceiling did not return a salute.
This is outrageous and dangerous, my friends.
Because what if, what if Cuba invaded America and the Marines couldn't fight back because they were still waiting for Kamala to return their salute? I thelu thu this. I tell you who would never do this this this this this this this this this this th this thu thu thu the their their their their their their their their their their their their their vice their vice their vice their vice their vice their vice president their vice their vice president their vice president their vice president. I their vice president, and vice president their vice president their vice president their vice president their vice president their vice president their vice president their vice their vice their vice their vice their vice their their their their their their their their their to do to do to do to do to do their to do their to do to do their their to do their. I would never to do to their. I would to to to to to to their told. I would. I would. I would told. I would their their their their their told. I would America and the Marines couldn't fight back
because they were still waiting for Kamala to return their salute? I tell you
who would never do this. My man, Donald Trump. He loved the military so much
that he would salute other countries' troops. That's respect.
Yo, but for real though, in case you're wondering, there's no actual rule
that the vice president or the president are supposed to return a salute.
This is just something that Ronald Reagan started, like the crack epidemic.
And once he started, nobody wanted to be the one to stop.
You know, it's like how that one co-worker in your office started giving everyone
holiday gifts.
And now you have to do it too, or you look like an asshole. So, here's your Starbucks gift card, Cheryl. Oh, you got me so. Oh, a Starbucks gift card.
What a good use of our time.
Now, personally, if I was a politician,
I'd be saluting all the time.
Yeah, it's fun.
It's like giving a little baby dab.
Like, people, if we're honest,
if Kamla Harris doesn't salute, I don't think it's the end of the world. In fact, if anyone is disrespecting the military, it's the people on TV talking about the troops,
like they're crybabies, make it seem like they're out there crying,
like, oh, I was waiting to salute when the vice president came,
but when she walked by, she didn't salute me.
So I saluted for Nanty.
And finally, some technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology technology, some technology news out of Utah, the only place where Mitt Romney is considered
a renegade.
Utah has always been one of the most conservative states in the United States, but now, they're
taking it to a whole new level.
Utah is a step closer to requiring all cell phones and tablets sold in the state to
automatically block pornography.
After the Republican governor signed legislation yesterday that critics call a significant
intrusion of free speech, Governor Spencer Cox said the measure would send an important message
about preventing children from accessing explicit online content.
The measure won't go into effect unless five other states inact similar laws, a provision
that was added to address concerns that it would be difficult to implement. That's right. Utah's
governor knows that porn doesn't belong on phones and tablets. It belongs
on laptops like God intended. I'm sure it's a little bit harder to take it
into the bathroom and try to balance it on the sink but that's just part of the
excitement. Seriously people this is pointless. Even if Utah did successfully banned to to to to to to to to to to the the to the the to the the to the to the their their thine their their thi thi. thi. thi. thioln thi. to to be to be a tooen thi. thi. tooe, tooe, to to to thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their thiuuuui. thi. thi. thia. theuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiui. thi. thi. the excitement. Seriously, people, this is pointless. Even if Utah did successfully ban cell phone,
it wouldn't make any difference.
People are horny.
If they can't watch porn, they'll find something else on their phone to get the job done.
Well, the Amazon app kind of looks like a penis, and the Instagram app looks like a
robots butthole. So if I just put them together, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi's thi, thi, thi's thi, thi, thi, thi, thi's thi's thi's thi's thr-s thr-s thooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. thi., yeah, that's gonna work for me. That's gonna work
real good. By the way, I also love that Utah wants five other states to join them. So even
Utah's laws are polygamous. But good luck, man. Good like getting other states to ban porn.
I want to hear that sales pitch. Come on. Who else hates looking at naked people, huh? Alaska, you know what I'm talking about, right?
Uh, I don't think so, dude. It's pretty lonely up here.
Wow, okay. Idaho, what about you guys? You guys think sex is gross, am I right?
But let's move on now to our main story.
March was supposed to be the month for celebrating women's history.
But we haven't really been able to focus on that lately because of what's going
on in women's presence. You see, a few weeks ago, the murder of Sarah Everard sparked
outrage in England and across the world. And just last week, a gunman in Georgia gunned
down seven women who he apparently blamed for his sex addiction. Now, these tragedies
each touched on a wide array of big issues, from police violence to racially motivated hate crimes.
But for many women, they're only the most extreme manifestation of a problem that they have
to deal with every single day.
The top story at this hour, the violence against women and the conversation that it has sparked
among women around the world. For many, it can feel like the only way to guarantee your personal safety is to to to to the to to the to to their their th. th. th. th. the, the, the, the, their, their, but, their, but, their, but, their, but, their, their, their, the, the, the, the, but, but, but, but, but, but, but their, but their, but their their, but, but, but, but, their their their, their their their, their, their their, their, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, theateateateateateathea, theateateateateate, theateateate, theateate, their, their, their, the, among women around the world. For many, it can feel like the only way to guarantee your personal safety
is to stay at home, lock your doors, and never leave.
The World Health Organization says one in three women worldwide have been subjected
to physical or sexual violence.
And data shows the violence starts alarmingly young.
Around the world, six women are killed every hour by men.
And for women of color, their cases rarely in the headlines.
On social media, the post text me when you get home,
now going viral.
Women all over the world sharing their stories.
We often are portrayed as paranoid when we call out or when we say,
like, oh, this is our realities but
really this is what we see and live every day. I thought I was an overprotective
mother so I was surprised to see millions of women out there their sisters
and mothers and friends asking other women to text them when they get home.
Okay now that that is truly depressing. For many women every time they leave the house it's a risk and this is not something that that that that that th that th, th something that th something that th something th something that th something th something th something th something th something th something th something th some thom thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi th. th. th. th. th is not th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi many women, every time they leave the house, it's a risk.
And this is not something that men experience. Like when the pandemic hit, men were like,
so just going outside is dangerous now, and women are like, yeah, add it to the list.
And that risk of violence is why women are forced to constantly check up on each other to make sure that everyone gets home okay.
It's become a normal part of women's routines.
Get home, brush your teeth, put on some PJs,
and then text your friends a picture
of you holding today's newspaper to prove that you're still alive.
And that sucks for women on multiple levels,
because sometimes a woman forgets to send the text,
and accidentally falls to sleep,
and by the trending on Twitter. And the truth is, even if women know they will get home safely most times,
they never know which is the time that they won't.
Because for women, just being out in public means facing a wide array of potential threats
from men.
People don't just wake up one day and murder somebody.
They are taught from an early age that there is a power difference between men and women and that it is okay to use certain language, certain behavior, and they progress from
cat calling and groping.
96% of women, 40 and younger, reported being harassed on the street in the past year.
Are you dressed for work? These are my professional clothes. I've been followed home.
I've been stopped.
I have had guys tried to sexually harass me.
I was cat called probably for the very first time,
probably 11 or 12.
And you have 30 seconds that young to work out
if I say no to this person.
Are they going to be okay with that or are they going to start yelling at me? Yeah, that's a terrifying thing to have to deal with.
Women never know what a cat call might lead to,
since that person already has the audacity to start shouting at them on the street.
I mean, it's like the guy at the buffet who starts grabbing rice with his bare hands.
Yo, that person is clearly capable of anything. This is why so many women wear headphones when they're walking down the street.
You think they're all listening to your podcast? No. Half of them are just pretending to listen
to something so when a man cat calls them, they can act like they didn't hear it. And the
other half would never listen to your podcast anyway. Oh, you talk about sports with a mix of pop culture? Oh, revolutionary. So have to tiptoe around the outside world
like it's the quiet place,
which is why they leave the house onto the teeth in case,
just in case they get noticed by the monster.
Too many of us have clutched our keys and our fists
in case we need to defend ourselves.
I now have a panic alarm, which is part of my life now. On my keys, on
my key chain for my car I have a mini mace. Camilla Parker packs up bags for her
business. She started to give women a layer of safety that fits into a purse.
The self-defense bags have a taser, an alarm, and pepper spray. Every woman you know
has taken a longer route, has doubled back on herself, has pretended
to dawdle by a shop window.
I walk in the middle of the road, and I did tell my daughters to do this.
That is a safe place.
God damn.
It's safer in the middle of the road. Yo, how bad do men have to be for women to be like,
I'll take my chances with an 18-wheeler?
At least it won't tell me to smile.
And I never want to hear anyone talk shit about women's giant purses again, like ever again.
Look at all the shit that they have to bring with them just to stay safe.
They got tasers everything you need to know.
Women don't know when they're going to be attacked and men don't know when they're going to be
surprised with a tailgate. You've got to be careful, broo. This bruskies around like every
corner. But the solution isn't really have anything to do with women at all. The burden has been placed on us to stay safe rather than compelling
men to change their behavior. We are finding these comments on social media about why was so and so going out
at night, why was she on her own? Why was she dressed like that? Why was she, why had she had a drink? You know, seeking to blame the woman for the fact that she's been attacked.
The mainstream conversation about this subject uses passive voice all over the place.
There's no active agent. Nobody's doing it to them. They're just experiencing it.
That immediately frames the entire debate as if it's your problem as a woman.
We are the culprits here.
Whether we like it or not, this is about men.
And we have to deal with that fact, and we can't even start to have that debate unless
we start to reframe it with men at the center of it.
That's right.
The conversation needs to be reframed.
Because this is not about what else women can do.
You can't solve violence against women
without addressing the men committing it.
It would be like trying to address gun violence
without restricting access to guns.
I mean, that would be so crazy.
Like, who would be that stupid to think
that you could stop gun violence without trying to stop access to guns?
And I know, right now, a lot of guys are watching this going,
Yo, Trevor, I don't murder women.
First of all, congratulations.
But second of all, understand that there's more to it than that,
all right?
As men, we often act in ways that we think
are totally appropriate,
because we know that we right? So it's easier for you to just not do those
things. Like, you might think you're innocently complimenting a stranger's outfit in a parking lot,
but unless you're Christian Seriano, she doesn't need to hear that from you. We should
also be teaching the next generation of men to respect women and be aware of their experiences, and we should start them as early as possible. Like as soon as they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they are they are they are they are they're they are th, th, th, th, th. th, th. th. th. th. thi, tho, tho, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, tho, th. tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, the, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, the, the, the. theei. thei. to, theiiii. theiiiiii. theiiii. thei. thei. thei. the. Like as soon as they're done nursing, their eyes have to be here.
But aside from children, we have a responsibility
to teach each other.
Like as men, maybe we should start checking in with our friends
like women do.
Only in our case, it'll be a little different.
Hey man, did you make it home safely without harassing any women?
All great, good to know. Love you, I mean, go Packers.
Look, the point is, as men,
we should be steering this conversation
to where it belongs, centered on us,
because this is our responsibility not to be creeps,
all right?
So let's not make it the one thing
that we don't take credit for. All right, when we come back, Dose Sloan looks looks looks looks looks looks looks looks female athletes have been getting into. So don't go away.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
You're rolling? But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at.
That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News.
Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17.
Welcome back to the daily social distancing show.
This month is Women's History Month.
And to celebrate, we turn to Dulce-Sloan for another episode of Dulceyan.
Athletes, they're good at running, jumping, and getting hit in the head.
But some athletes are also trailblazers for justice and pioneers for change.
Like Muhammad Ali protesting
the Vietnam War or Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the anthem or J.R. Smith
missing all those jump shots. I see what you're saying J.R. No justice, no threes.
But today I want to talk about the activist female athletes who have been erased from the history books.
Women like track star Rose Robinson.
Long before Cap Neil to protest police brutality,
Rose refused to stand for the flag and anthem
during the 1959 Pan American Games
because she felt they represented war, injustice and hypocrisy.
Her activism was another example of black women in the 1950s
perfect in the art of sitting when and where they weren't supposed
to, whether it was sitting at the front of the bus, the whites-only section of a restaurant,
or just sitting around judging white people dancing.
Basically, we were experts at using our behinds to say, fuck you to the system.
It wasn't long after the protest that the IRS camegues for tax evasion. Mm-hmm. Of course they did.
She ended up going to jail and missing the 1960 Olympic Games.
The same games where a young, unknown athlete named Cash's Clay
broke out onto the world stage.
History may have been different if the government hadn't Wesley Snipe Robinson over $380.
Fast forward to a couple of Olympics later,
and another brave athlete would have her
protest overlooked. Wyoming Tias was the first athlete in Olympic history, male or female,
to win gold medals in consecutive 100 meter events, an accomplishment that took two decades
to beat. And that's before all these modern improvements in science and nutrition and vegetables.
When Tyan set this record, they hadn't even invented kale yet.
And in the 1968 Olympics, Wyoming had protested racial segregation by wearing black shorts
instead of her uniform shorts.
Unfortunately, her protest did not get the coverage it should have and no one noticed, and part
of that was the media's fault.
But maybe she could have done something a bit more flashy. If your protest involves clothes. It's either the the the they they they they they they they they they's they's they's they's they's they's they's they's they've they've they've they've they've they've the they've the the the they've the the the the they they they've the they they they they they they they they they they they they they they hadn't they hadn't they hadn't they hadn't they hadn't they hadn't they hadn't they hadn't they hadn't they hadn't they hadn't they hadn't they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they the the thate thate thate thate thate thate. tho theate. theate. thate. theeate. thate the that's fault. But maybe she could have done something a bit more flashy.
If your protest involves clothes,
it's either gotta be loud clothes or no clothes.
If you're running with no bottoms,
oh, you've got people's attention.
Finally, let's talk about Alice and Felix,
one of the greatest sprinters to ever compete in the Olympics. Felix was good enough to get a Nike sponsorship until 2018 when she got pregnant.
Then during contract negotiations, Nike offered her a brand new deal with a 70% pay cut,
which is some bullshit. They should have given her 100% more. She's literally growing another
sprinter. If it was me, I would have rolled up the Nike and burn that bitch to ground. But Allison is classy, you know.
So she wrote an op-ed in the New York Times to let the sneaker heads know what was up.
The resulting outrage forced Nike to stop reducing endorsements based on an athlete getting pregnant.
There was even a congressional inquiry into Nike's maternity policies for athletes.
And if you're Nike, you know you need to make changes to policy when Congress is the one telling you to just do it. So the next time you think about
athletes taking a stand, don't forget the ladies. They're racking up the bling
and fighting the power at the same time. Now, if it'll excuse me, I'm about to go
do my own bottomless protest outside Idris Elba's house. What am I protesting? His wife.
Thank you so much, Doolce. All right, when we come back,
the fantastic actress, Nomza Mombata, joins me on the show
to talk about what it was like working with Eddie Murphy on Coming to America.
You don't want to miss it.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, A Second Look,
starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome back to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
Earlier today, I spoke with South African actress,
Nomza Mombata.
We talked about making her American feature film debut in the Coming to America
and what it was like for her, actually to America. Nomza Mombata, welcome to the Daily Social
Distancing Show. It feels good. It feels good to have somebody pronounce my name
and surname very correctly. I practiced for a very long time just so you know okay.
It was like I sat the whole day I was like nomsam obatha and then I practiced and then not practice but I practiced yes and I just sat then and I then and I then and I then and I then I then I then I was then I was then then then I was then then I was then I was then I was th th th the th and I was th and I was th and I was th and I was th and I'm th and I'm th and I'm th and I'm tham th I'm the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th I'm th I'm tham tham thu. thu. the the. the. theeeeeeee. theeeeeeeeee. to to to to to to to to to to to the. the. I'm th whole day I was like, nomzam, oh, mbathah. And then I practiced, then I practiced, but I practiced, yes.
And I just sat then, I was like, I'm gonna practice.
How are you?
I'm so good.
All the more better for being here.
Oh, are you kidding?
Are you kidding? This is an amazing day for me, because not only do I get to celebrate you as a fellow Suc-aq......... I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, to celebrate, I to celebrate, to celebrate, to celebrate, to celebrate, to celebrate, to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, I to celebrate, to celebrate, to celebrate, to celebrate, to celebrate, to celebrate, the the the the the the the the the the the the the to the the to the to the the to to the to the to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to celebrate, to to the the the most successful movie of the year, the movie that broke Amazon Prime,
coming to America.
Congratulations on not just being part of the biggest film,
but also being one of the breakout stars.
I mean, do you ever take a moment to think about how amazing that is?
Eddie Murphy, James O'Neill to the whole
Wesley Snipes, you know, Leslie Jones, Jerm-Fauler, and so many people are like, man, that nom's Amo, she's amazing.
It is crazy, it is crazy.
I mean, honestly, it's been an out of body experience
for the longest time, but I think you would be able to let me know,
you know, how to, you know, go about this Hollywood thing,
because having to call Eddie Murphy, yeah, and Eddie came on to set, or Sino, and to set, and to set, and their, and to, and their, and their, and their, and, and to, and, and, and, and the, and, and, and, and, and, the, the, the, thian, thian, thian, to, to, to, to, th.. I, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, th...... I, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, I, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, tho, hall or Wesley. So yeah it's been an amazing journey honestly and a very incredible out-of-body coming together like a full circle
moment for me. Your coming to America story was almost as crazy as the original coming to
America story because you had to audition for this movie. You weren't in the country
when you were doing it. Walk me through the story of how you came to be one of the stars in the movie.
So it's crazy.
I'm in the UAE.
I literally flew from New York to Switzerland to the UAE.
By the time that I'm in the UAE,
I'm supposed to fly back to South Africa
because I was supposed to go and host the night before my flight from my agent and he says you want to be in the room for this one. You can send a self-tape but you want to be in the
room and I was like listen I've spent so much money flying in and out these
auditions are not working out and I'm not going to spend another penny and he
said well it's for a lead in coming to America and I'm like well I don't know
why you're dead hello? So I literally changed my flight from flying out of Abu Dhabi to South Africa to a new
flight from Dubai to LA and so I canceled that and I drove from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, caught
a flight from Dubai into LA and I made them to onto the offices of Leah Butler and I did
my audition.
It is quite a feat, you know because I, getting into an American film is already a big jump,
getting into a, you know, a major marquee film is another jump, but I mean, to be seen as
one of the breakout stars of it is the ultimate, ultimate, ultimate celebration of what you have
done. And, you know, like Eddie, for instance, even said, he's like, you have the most authentic accent. He's like, he loved how you were doing the thing.
You know, you play Germain Fowler's barber in the story, you know, and the love interest.
And what's cool about the story is you don't know which way it's going.
You're like, are we gonna stay in Zamunda?
Or are we gonna go back to America?
But here you are getting the job because I mean a lot of people don't know this especially like Americans they just go to other countries and they
work you know you can go to another country and you can work and if you're
British you can just go to another country and you work but as a South
African there's such a big process behind like did visa. And then you move from being a
tourist to being somebody that's employed in America. So it's a whole process.
I mean I remember even when you know I got a call to make it back to the
states it was like you need to come back you need to sign papers so that we
can give you you you know your official 01 visa and go back to the the the. their visa stuck in your passport and their and then and then and then and then to to their. to to to to their. to their. to their. to to their. to their. their. their. their. their, thii. thi. thi. thiole, thiole. thi. thiole. thiole. thi. their, their, I'm their, I'm their, I'm their, I I's, I's, I I's, I I I's, I I I's, I I I I I I's, I's, I I I I I's, I I I I's, I I I I I I I I's, I I I I's, I I. I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I'm thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. tooooooooooooooooooooomea. thoooooooooome. And, I'm thithe embassy in South Africa, you have that visa stuck in your passport and then come back.
Let me tell you, I was like,
I really genuinely deserve this movie.
Because I've worked pretty hard for it.
Did anybody say anything to you at the visa place?
Because I remember, one of my favorite things
about the process, Americans don't realize you do this.
So to everyone who's watching, who doesn't understand. This is how it works for a lot of countries around the world. If you're going to come in for the interview, and then Americans can accept you for the
job, but then you have to go back to your country so that Americans in your country, so that's, you're,
the taxin' the passport, so that you can I'll never forget the guy who was working, you know, immigration, he looked
at my visa and he's like, yo, your visa says you got an O1. and I said, yeah, and he said, man,
oh one means you the best of the best.
I said, well, I'm just good at what I do. And he's like, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, the the the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the the the the the the guy, the the the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy, the guy you the best. You like the Michael Jordan of what you do. And I said, well, I don't know about that. He's like, what do you do?
I said, I'm a comedian.
You're the Michael Jordan of comedy?
I said, I don't even know what he's like,
hey man, if I see your jokes and they're not funny,
you're going back to your country, you hear me? It is. I'm thinking right now I'm cracking up because I'm thinking you got a threat and I had a threat as well
Because she saw my she saw my own one and she said hmm it says paramount
And I said yes says well, what do you do and I said I'm an actress. Oh, which movie and she said oh coming to America and she was already, you know, I said coming to America and she stopped writing. she looked up, she said, don't mess it up.
I'm sorry.
No one wants to. No, we want to make a good movie.
Movies on your shoulders, girl.
If I'm watching that movie and it's how I'm going to come find you and take your passport and you're going back home.
Please don't, please don't, please don't.
No, it's only been a success story. It's been beautiful. People have been celebrating you back home.
You know, everyone's excited and you can't say,
and they're just like, oh, no Zamo, you've done it for us.
It's a new journey now.
And I know it's scary and it's a crazy time
to come to America during a pandemic.
But you have dreams, you have hopes, you have aspirations.. to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do know, building on the success from South Africa into the US?
Honestly, just to continue to do the work that I do,
to continue to work with the United Nations,
the Refugee Agency, to continue to make more films.
Right now, I want to get into producing as well.
I think I'm in that space, Like, because this is a question I love asking people who've just come to a new country. Like, so, do you have any favorite things you do in LA?
Do you have, like, because it's pandemic plus a new country.
So what is your like normal life now?
Do you have any normal?
You know, honestly, when you come to America,
I think you've said this before about the eating.
So, there's the first couple of months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months months the months the the the eating. So there's the first couple of months of just eating and thinking that it's not gonna go anywhere.
And then you wanna go home and everyone says,
my goodness, I'm not like I was so good to you.
You're cheats.
So I try not to eat a lot, but also, you know, I love chicken sandwiches. I love chicken sandwiches. What's chicken sandwiches as much as I do. I enjoy chicken sandwiches.
What's the most American thing that, oh,
the crossing of the street was kind of very hard for me
in the beginning, honestly.
Looking the wrong way?
Yeah, there's something I was trying not to die in America.
Yes. It's very expensive to transport a body home. So yeah, there was was was the the their their their was their their their their their their their their thi. their thi. thi. thi. their thirty. thirty. their expensive. their expensive. their expensive. their their their thirty. thirty. to thirty. to to to to to to to to to to transport to transport to transport. to transpi. to be toe. toe. toe. the most. It's th. thathe a thathe a thathe a thi. thi. It's thi. It's thi. It's thi. I. It's. It's. I. It's. It's. It's. It's thi. It's thi. It's thirty. It's the most most most most most most most most most most most the most most the most most most expensive. I was threaten. I was th. It's th. It's the most most most most most expensive. It's very threaten. It's very things that I was going to, but I honestly, it's very
hard to come into a new country as a person who's on the other side.
So I had a lot of culture shock, a lot of culture shock, but there's a lot of learning as well.
So, I mean, what do I do? I haven't hiked. I haven't done, I haven't done the normal, touristy things. I haven't thaguuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. I haven't tha tha tha tha tha tha tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho, I haven't tho, I haven't tho, I haven't tho, I haven't had a lot tho, I haven't tho, I haven't had a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot, I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I've th. I've th. I've th. I've th. I've Hollywood Walk of Fame, so you know, I'm taking it slow.
Oh, I love it. So what you need to do is, I'll give you a few tips for LA what you need to do.
You need to get like a really nice dog and then you need to go for a hike. But then you need to dress as if you're on a runway. And then you go for the hike. to make thr you thr I make thin to the to to to to thin to their to to to their to to their to to to their their to to to to their to to their to their to their to get. to get to to get their to get to get to get to get to get to get a few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few few to dress as a few to to to to get a few few few few few, to get a few, to get a few, to get a few, tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tip a few few few few few tip. tip. tip. tip. tip. tipee. tipe. tipe. tipe. tipe. tipe. tipe. tipea few few look like you were working out. Exactly. Do I need to have a bottle of water as well?
But it must be like a special type of bottle,
like it must be a bottle that says something about you as a person.
Very natural, very natural.
And then like, yeah, and then just enjoy LA.
Be yourself, but don't be yourself.
Just be who you think you for me. This is too hard for me. I don't think I can be able to do it. Anaz. I don't know. But can I tell you the thing for real though is that's the great thing about what you're
doing. What a lot of people do is you are you and people are loving you for that. I think that's why you're successful in the movie. You play the character fantastically. And I think when people meet the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real the real. the real. the real the real the real. the real. the real. the real. the real. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. things. things. things. things. things. things. things. things. things. things. things. things. things. things. things. things. things success, more joy, and you have no risk of somebody taking away that passport.
Thank you so much for joining me on the show.
Also, thank you so much to see you when the lockdown ends.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, please.
Stay safe, okay?
All right, bye. And. Don't forget, people. Coming to America is available now on Amazon Prime Video.
All right, we're going to take a quick break, but we'll be right back after this.
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When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
You're rolling?
But that's all about to change.
Like, none of this stuff gets looked at.
That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News.
Listen to 60 minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts.
This has been a Comedy Central Podcast.